Here the target is more

artappraiser — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:21:37 +0000

In reply to 10 dead as 100,000+ Bangladesh Islamist protesters demand blasphemy law

Here the target is more specific, "atheist bloggers":

Bangladesh protest violence leaves more than 30 people dead
By Syed Zain Al-Mahmood in Dhaka, The Guardian, Monday 6 May 2013

[.....] A large rally, organised by the Hefazat-e-Islam, a pressure group consisting of teachers and students of religious schools, descended into violence on Sunday evening when Islamist protesters clashed with police and ruling Awami League activists. Several hundred shops and vehicles were burnt during pitched battles that raged into the night.

The Islamists were demonstrating in favour of an anti-blasphemy law and demanding punishment for "atheist" bloggers who they say have insulted Islam and its prophet.

Many continued to clash with police on Monday in the Narayanganj suburb of Dhaka and in the Chittagong district in the south-east, with at least 15 protesters and 3 police officers confirmed dead by police sources.

Munirul Islam, a police spokesman, said law enforcement personnel had acted to safeguard the lives and property of citizens after Islamists resorted to violence. The police banned political demonstrations in Dhaka on Monday and cancelled permission for rallies planned by the Awami League and the main opposition BNP.

But Zafrullah Khan, a spokesman for Hefazat-e-Islam, accused the government of a "massacre in the dead of night".

At 2.30am local time on Monday, about 5,000 law enforcement personnel, including members of the police and paramilitary troops, proceeded towards the gathering of at least 70,000 Hefazat activists.

In the darkness, with power to the area cut, police reportedly charged into the gathering, lobbing tear gas and stun grenades and firing into the crowd.

Earlier, they had ordered the Hefazat activists to leave using megaphones. At least 22 people died in the clashes, most of them supporters of Hefazat, according to police and hospital sources. Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital said many of those dead had been shot in the head.

Diganta TV and Islamic TV had been shut down for misleading reporting, an official of the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission said. The two channels had broadcast live the Islamist rally in Dhaka. Police officials took control of the studios late on Sunday.

Last month, the government attracted criticism from human rights advocates when it shut down a pro-opposition newspaper, the daily Amar Desh, and arrested its editor, Mahmudur Rahman. [.....]

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